She remembered Luke's favorite song, for some reason. She couldn't recall the shape of his nose, or what his voice sounded like, but his favorite song seemed to be permanently stuck to her brain, like fingerprints on wet clay. Not the title, but the tune: a jaunty, upbeat jingle from an old commercial. She used to think it fit him well. Luke was always happy and lighthearted when Annabeth was around - at least, in the beginning.

Annabeth could control her feelings. She knew if she just tried hard enough, she could control her feelings. The only reason she fell in love with Luke was because she was weak, and she let herself. She let herself develop a crush, she let herself moon over him, and she let herself shatter when he left. She failed with Luke, she let him destroy her. She broke her own heart.

She promised herself it would never happen again, no matter what. If it meant creating a shield of verbal barbed wire, if it meant derailing any conversation that seemed vaguely romantic, if it meant pushing down her feelings, if it meant denying herself happiness, she promised herself she would do it.

But here she was, staring at a half completed essay, unable to get Percy's stupid face out of her mind.

She rubbed her eyes and closed her laptop. There was no way she would be able to finish anything today.

Annabeth didn't want Percy in her life, but couldn't stand the idea of just letting him walk away, either. She had forgotten that part about having a crush - that illogical, irresistible need to just be around someone, to even just sit quietly in the same room with them. All she had wanted before Percy was to push love away using any means necessary. Now she just wanted to pull it closer, draw it around her like a blanket. It was a need she couldn't let herself fulfill, but it wasn't one she could easily ignore.

She sighed. She would just have to find a way.

Annabeth was in the middle of her thoughts when Percy came storming out of Councilman Harrison's room, looking like he could summon a hurricane. Or maybe like he was the hurricane, ready to destroy anything in his path.

"Annabeth." He reached out his hand to her. "Let's leave."

Annabeth's mind went completely blank. "I - I don't...What?"

"Let's get out of here. Fly to China, take a bus to Mexico, go get some frozen yogurt. Anything, let's just get as far from here as possible."

"What is going on? You weren't supposed to leave until 2:45!"

Percy's eyes were blazing."Let's just get as far away from here as possible." His nostrils flared, and his fists were balled.

"I'm - I'm not supposed to leave until 6:00."

He looked into Annabeth's eyes, and she flinched despite her best efforts to be cool and collected. "Please, Annabeth. Come with me."

Annabeth knew it was an awful idea. It was a terrible idea. It was the dumbest idea she'd ever heard. She wanted to go with him so badly.

But she couldn't just leave, either.

She thought about it and found a compromise. "On one condition."

Given Percy's blue shirt and tie, it was unsurprising that his car was blue. What was surprising were the specific shades of blue. It was covered with tacky swirls of cornflower and azure, as if a child had tried to draw an ocean on the sides.

"Sweet ride," Annabeth said with a smirk.

"Thanks. My brother Tyson did it," Percy answered absentmindedly, sarcasm flying over his head. He still seemed dazed as his anger wore off, but mentioning his brother seemed to inspire a small, fond smile.

"So what exactly happened in there? Did Harrison read you an excerpt from his new novel?" Annabeth said, climbing into Percy's car.

The interior of the car was unexpected as well. It was far from luxurious: wires popped out of the radio, and the floor was littered with various papers and grocery bags. Annabeth thought she even caught a can of soda rolling around, which would explain the blue stain on the driver's seat.

At the mention of Councilman Harrison's name, Percy's anger came back full force.

"Do you know what he said?" Percy seethed. "He called you a catch like it was a joke. He said you could land a guy if you weren't such a prude, and all you needed was little fun, and that he would have been happy to-"

He broke off and took a deep breath. "I really hate that guy."

Annabeth couldn't help herself; she laughed. "That's it? You stormed out of the room an hour early for that?"

Percy blinked at her. This time it was his turn to be confused. "What - what are you trying to-"

"He says stuff like that all the time, it's not like he's gossiping behind my back like a sixth grader."

Percy blinked again, stunned. "And it...doesn't bother you?"

Annabeth snorted. "It bothers me a lot. I've contemplated murder several times. But it's not like I can stop it." She shrugged. "First rule of Washington is to know when to just shut your mouth."

Percy gaped at her. "That sounds like something Harrison would say."

Annabeth felt like Percy had slapped her. "I'm not - it's different!"

"Really? How so?"

Even as a child, Annabeth had wanted to do something incredible. She read the newspaper every day as a five year old, learned about carbon emissions and, and it baffled her that none of the kids around her seemed to care. Even the adults who had the power to do something were apathetic. And she knew if she just tried, if someone just gave her an opportunity, she could fix the world. It could have just been her hubris talking, but she was confident that if she didn't get a chance to even try, she would explode.

That was why she couldn't just go with Percy. She couldn't just throw away her dream, not even for someone who made her as dizzy as he did.

"Harrison just has more to gain. I have everything to lose," Annabeth found herself saying finally.

Percy seemed to ponder that for a moment. "I guess so." He smiled. "You must be really passionate about politics if you're willing to stay with Harrison."

"A little bit."

Annabeth noted with a little pleasure that just saying Harrison's name made Percy's hands tighten on the wheel. She forced herself to admit it was a little nice to have someone like Percy on her side. A little nice.

"What do you intend on doing if you make it?" Percy asked.

In an instant, Annabeth's eyes lit up, and her foot started tapping erratically. She was a moment away from bouncing up and down excitedly like a child.

"Go after the prison system first, at least decrease the recidivism rate for African American communities, if not criminals in general. Push for a carbon cap and trade system, and end congressional fundraising, which is pretty much a bipartisan issue, anyway." She was smiling delightedly, as if remembering a joke someone had told her. "I might try to put an end to shell companies, I'm not particularly sure. Maybe just put more regulations on them. Oh, and I'd definitely devote a good deal to - to -"

She stopped and cringed. As someone whose fortune came from his dad, Poseidon, and whose dad got his fortune from his dad, Kronos, Percy was maybe not the person to complain to about family fortunes.

"- tackling discriminatory laws, obviously," she finished instead.

Percy scrunched up his face. "That's not what you were going to say." He turned to look at her. "I'm not going to judge you for any opinion you have."

Annabeth coughed. "I was just going to say - you know, try to change the distribution of wealth, stuff like that."

"Oh!" Percy grinned. "Good. The wealth gap sucks."

"But - you're rich!"

Percy shrugged. "Not always, remember? We're here, by the way."

Annabeth's head jerked away from him sharply to observe her surroundings. She hadn't actually processed most of the ride. She hadn't even thought to ask where they were going. Percy was just...distracting.

They weren't anywhere special; it appeared to be an outdoor mall. Flocks of chatting shoppers walked by, colorful bags in their hands and pigeons at their feet. A string of lights connected the roofs of dozens of stores selling leather shoes and kitchenware.

Percy opened the door for Annabeth with a flourish, earning him a disdainful snort and an eyeroll. Still, Annabeth turned her face away from him to hide a blush.

"Alright, follow me," Percy proclaimed, taking Annabeth's hand.

She drew back in an instant, but not before processing the spark of electricity that ran through her nerves for a second, the warm feeling of his skin on hers. Not before processing her desire to hold on forever. For once, she cursed her brain for being so fast.

A look of hurt flashed across Percy's face before giving way to embarrassment. "God - I'm sorry, I totally wasn't thinking, I'll -"

"I can follow you just fine without holding your hand like a toddler." Annabeth snapped.

Instantly realizing her mistake, Annabeth added quickly, "What are we doing here, anyway? If we're going on a shopping spree, you have to pay for it."

Percy sighed in relief and smiled. "Didn't I say where we were going?" He stopped walking in front of colorful shack decorated with anthropomorphic fruit. "Getting some frozen yogurt."